Thematic Transference In Modern Chinese Fictional Translation: A Functional Perspective

This thesis, based on Halliday's thematic theory as well as data analysis, attempts to uncover the underlying cultural reasons governing thematic transference in Chinese-English fictional translation, thus increasing the translator's awareness of intercultural communication and improving the quality of translations. First of all, a comparison between English and Chinese Themes are made by applying Halliday's framework. Then three hypotheses concerning thematic transference are set forth. Hypothesis 1 assumes that personal Themes are the predominant type of Themes in both Chinese and English fictions and this shared feature might result in a low percentage rate of thematic changes in fictional translation.. Hypothesis 2 anticipates that the translations in question involve several different types of thematic changes, among which are mainly topic-subject type, verb Theme -nominal Theme type and zero Theme-personal Theme type. Hypothesis 3 assumes that thematic changes are determined by cultural differences. Then data presentation follows. On analyzing the data, it is concluded the three hypotheses hold true. Through discussions, we come to realize that thematic changes result from different cultural traditions. On one hand, Chinese stresses unity, intuition, dynamic thinking, high context, topic and deduction. On the other hand, English prefers opposition, rationality, static thinking, low context, subject and induction. Only by realizing these differences can one transfer Themes in a natural and idiomatic way.